Before You Hit The Road

Posted on October 7, 2024

The simple task of driving can become so mundane and repetitive that most drivers become habitual in their daily routine. They rarely put much thought into what they’re actually doing, so many things can get overlooked. We want to prevent that because many things that get overlooked, like vehicle inspections, which I discussed in my last post, can expose you to potential accidents or dangerous situations.

Continuing the trend of what to do before you drive, we are going to go over the last few items before you put the vehicle in motion that will improve your alertness behind the wheel and improve your safety even further. I have seen many very bad situations during my time on the road, and my ultimate goal is that you will still be here tomorrow for your families. If any of this helps you guarantee a safe drive, then I am a happy person.

So let’s get into it.

Proper Positioning

When it comes to positioning for a driver, there’s really two areas to look at.

• Seat Position
• Mirror Position

Seat Position

What does a correct seating position look like?

With your hands on the steering wheel at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions, your shoulder blades should be flush with the seat, making solid contact with the back.

While sitting in this position, reach one hand to the top of the steering wheel. The steering wheel should be under your wrist when both shoulders are still comfortably touching the back of the seat.

What’s the benefit you ask?

The benefit of sitting in this position, with your hands at the 9 and 3 positions, is that you will rarely find the need to shuffle your hands while driving down the road, as this will maximize your ability to make small inputs while keeping your hands in constant contact with the steering wheel. Obviously, at slower speeds and backing into parking spaces will require more hand and body movement, but while traveling at highway speeds, the less movement you, as the driver, make, the safer you are.

In case you are wondering what the dangers of shuffling your hands while driving are, let me explain. By moving your hands around, you may inadvertently move the steering wheel excessively, and you risk over-correcting, which can catch you by surprise and lead to losing control of the vehicle. Controlled inputs and a solid foundation in the driver’s seat mean the driver is always in control and has a very low chance of oversteering or understeering.

Mirror Position

Your vehicle’s mirrors allow you to see what is happening around you while driving. That might sound obvious, but the number of drivers I see failing to use them is shocking and always leads to unnecessary close calls on the road. Your side and rear-view mirrors are among your vehicle’s most important safety features, and you must ensure they are properly adjusted BEFORE driving. While sitting in the driver’s seat in the proper position we just discussed, adjust the rear-view mirror so that the mirror’s center is aligned with the center mark of your rear window. You should be able to do this without moving your head and altering the results. Ideally, your shoulders should be flat on the seat, your head upright on the headrest, and you should only move your eyes to see the rear-view mirror.

Once you feel good about the rear-view mirror, you’ll want to make sure your side-view mirrors are also adjusted properly. To do this, you need to locate the lever or buttons that control your side mirrors. (Typically found on driver’s side door)

Remaining in the proper position, adjust the driver-side mirror until you can only see a sliver of your vehicle, with 95% of the mirror showing the road beside you. You will also want to ensure that it isn’t aiming too high or low, so you can use your car’s body or rear window lines to ensure it is level with the road.

Repeat this with the passenger side mirror.

It is important to remain in the proper sitting position while driving so that you do not have to physically move when using the mirrors. When using the side mirrors, you will have to make a slight head rotation, but minimizing movement and body adjustments to see will positively impact safety.

Remove Distractions From the Cockpit

The final task (Irearview promise) that needs to be checked off the list before you can safely operate a vehicle is to ensure that you have removed all types of driving distractions.

“There’s more than one?” You ask.

In fact, there are Three:

• Visual Distractions
• Mental Distractions
• Physical Distractions

Completing all of your personal business prior to departing will help prevent you from becoming distracted behind the wheel and causing a preventable accident.

“Anything you do while operating a vehicle that does not involve driving the vehicle is considered Distracted Driving.”

Visual Driving Distractions

Visual Distractions take your eyes and attention away from what’s happening around you as you drive and cause you to look elsewhere.

A common visual distraction are billboards that have been purposely designed to make you look at them. However, animals, people, change of scenery, vehicles on the side of the road, construction, or an accident scene are all examples of visual distractions. Other drivers often engage in this type of distraction, known as rubbernecking, especially when passing an accident scene.

Don’t Be A Rubbernecker! You will only make matters worse.

Being aware of the distraction and recognizing that you are being distracted will allow you to break free from it and get back to the job at hand, called driving.

Physical Driving Distractions

Physical Distractions are exactly as the name implies. Any task that a driver engages in that requires physical movement to accomplish and is not driving-related is a Physical Distraction.

Reaching down to pick up a drink or removing the cap is a physical activity that distracts you from operating the vehicle. Eating, smoking, holding a hand-held device, changing the radio station, etc. are all prime examples of physical driving distractions.

In short, anything that requires you to take your hands off the steering to perform the task is very dangerous because while you are distracted performing the task, you are not in complete control of the vehicle. A pothole or unexpected vehicle movement can cause you to panic and react, causing an accident. It can also leave you unprepared to respond to a situation quickly enough, resulting in another smashed-up car.

Mental Driving Distractions

Mental Distractions are commonly referred to as “Zoning Out” or driving in a trance. This type of distraction occurs when you think about everything else except driving and the road around you.

We’ve all had those moments when life is overwhelming and your mind is racing through everything you need to do or the stressors of being an adult and parent. So, I can completely relate to how difficult it can be to eliminate those, but awareness of the distraction can help avoid causing an accident.

I’m sure many of you have experienced driving for a distance, snapping out of thought, realizing where you are on a stretch of road, and not remembering the last few miles or minutes. This results from a mental distraction that left you blind for a time that could’ve resulted in several bad outcomes.

Symptoms of mental distractions can often resemble microsleep or nodding off while driving, which is what makes them so incredibly dangerous.

Symptoms of Distracted Driving

Inattention Blindness

Inattention Blindness is a psychological phenomenon where a driver fails to notice something fully visible because the driver’s attention is engaged on another task, event, or object.

This is why so many drivers get involved in accidents and say that they never saw the light change or failed to notice when a car swerved into their lane, resulting in an accident.

Highway Hypnosis

Highway Hypnosis is an altered mental state in which a person can drive a vehicle great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so.

This is the trance-like state of mind that I mentioned earlier, and it is more likely to occur on long, boring drives that lack much driver involvement.

The brain interprets the lack of visual stimuli as a pattern and begins to shut down. Drivers who are tired or sleep-deprived are at greater risk of succumbing to highway hypnosis, and a great way to counter this is to keep your eyes moving and read everything you can.

An excellent way to combat this problem is to read the road in front of you as far as you can see. Then, look down, read the speedometer, and reread the road. Check your driver-side mirror and reread the road. Check your passenger mirror and reread the road. Look down again and read your other gauges, and reread the road. Check your rearview mirror, and repeat.

This 10-second pattern forces eye movement to help keep you alert and combat highway hypnosis. You can switch it up any way you like, but the key is keeping your brain active and your eyes moving.

One Final Note Before You Go

Texting while driving is illegal in 49 states; why is it not that way in all 50… I don’t know, but you are six times more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving, and do you know why?

The reason is that texting while driving causes all three kinds of distracted driving simultaneously. Visually, Physically, and Mentally distracted all in one moment has led to 8% of all traffic fatalities in 2022. Please don’t do it!

Find a safe place to park off the roadway. That doesn’t mean the shoulder, but find a parking lot or rest area to engage in texting. Nothing is more important than your life and the lives of those around you, so whatever it is...

It Can Wait!!!

If you made it this far, thank you for learning how to become a safer driver. Please keep these pre-trip keys in mind as you get ready to begin your drive, and remember,

“Never Drive Faster Than Your Angel Can Fly.“